Make This Palm Play Music
There's no other major item most of us own that is as confusing, unpredictable and unreliable as our personal computers. Everybody has questions about them, and we aim to help.
Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about how to use the Palm Treo 650 as an MP3 player, firewalls for Windows 98, and the new version of iTunes.
Q: I use a Palm Treo 650 with a one-gigabyte memory card. No one can explain to me how to use this phone as an MP3 player. Can you?
A: Yes. You have to get a Treo-compatible software program that plays MP3s, install it on your Treo and then copy your MP3 song files onto your memory card. The music software will find the files on the card and allow you to play them.
There are two Treo music programs I have used successfully on the 650 model. One is called Pocket Tunes; the other is RealPlayer for Palm. You should check the CD that came with your Treo. One of these programs may be included. It may even be on your Treo already. If not, Pocket Tunes, which costs $15, is at:
www.pocket-tunes.com. RealPlayer for Palm is at:
www.real.com/palm. It's free, but it may require you to set up an account with Real's music service.
Q: My computer's operating system is Windows 98. Since my current firewall program no longer supports Windows 98, what firewall can I install?
A: There may be several possibilities, but here's one. The 2005 edition of Norton Personal Firewall supports Windows 98. If you buy the boxed $50 version of the newer 2006 edition (which doesn't support Windows 98), the 2005 edition is included. Or you can download the 2005 edition by itself from
www.symantecstore.com for $30, though it's hard to find on the site.
Q: You gave the new version of iTunes a very positive review, but why didn't you mention that they eliminated two very good features -- the equalizer and the "browse" mode that let you sort songs by genre?
A: Because these two features haven't been removed, just relocated. The equalizer can be summoned by clicking on the View menu and selecting "Show Equalizer." The Browse mode is invoked by clicking on the icon shaped like an eye at the lower right corner of the screen
用Palm播放音乐
在我们大多数人拥有的大件电器中，再没有什么比个人电脑更令人费解、更变幻莫测的了。每个人或许都有些关于电脑的问题，而《莫博士信箱》将为您提供帮助。
本周我将回答读者关于如何将Palm Treo 650当作MP3播放器使用、Windows 98的防火墙以及新版iTunes的问题。
问：我的Palm Treo 650的存储卡容量为1G。没有人能告诉我如何把它当作MP3播放器来用，你能告诉我吗？
答：没问题。首先你必须安装一个Treo兼容的MP3播放软件，然后再将MP3歌曲复制到你的存储卡上。MP3播放软件会找到存储卡上的歌曲文件，然后你就可以播放这些歌曲了。
我用过两种适用于Treo 650机型的音乐软件，一种名为Pocket Tunes，另一种是RealPlayer for Palm。你应该先检查一下Treo附带的光盘，里面可能就有这些音乐播放软件，甚至有可能Treo里已经安装了此类软件。如果没有的话，你可以在
www.pocket-tunes.com买到Pocket Tunes，价格为15美元。RealPlayer for Palm在
www.real.com/palm上可以找到，是免费的，但它可能要求你设立一个使用Real音乐服务的帐户。
问：我电脑的操作系统是Windows 98，但我目前使用的防火墙程序不再支持Windows 98，那么我应该使用什么样的防火墙程序呢？
答：可能会有几种程序可供你选择，但我这里只介绍一种。2005版诺顿个人防火墙(Norton Personal Firewall)支持Windows 98。你可以购买2006年盒装版，售价为50美元。虽然它不支持Windows 98，但它里面包含2005版。或者你可以从
www.symantecstore.com网站上直接下载2005版，不过找到这个版本可能会费些周折。
问：你对新版iTunes给予了非常积极的评价，但为什么你没有提到它去除了两个非常好的功能－－均衡器以及能够根据类型搜索歌曲的浏览模式？
答：因为这两项功能并没有被去除，只是换了地方。点击检视(View)菜单，然后选择“显示均衡器”，就可以把均衡器调用出来了。至于你说的那个浏览模式，只需点击一下屏幕右下角那个形状像眼睛的图标即可。
Walter S. Mossberg
（编者按：本文作者Walter S. Mossberg是《华尔街日报》科技栏目Personal Technology，Mossberg's Mailbox等栏目的专栏作家。这些栏目主要介绍一些最新的消费类科技产品和解决方案，并解答读者提出的问题。）
